Religious Dreamers

When preachers fail to preach the whole counsel of God and people are unwilling to listen to sound doctrine, society degenerates. The key to the health of nations is the same as the key to the health of individuals, to be reconciled to God.

Everybody pursues their dreams, and people’s dreams are grounded in what they value the most. Yet, we do not often consider is where our dreams come from. We form our dreams from what we believe, and we believe according to the preachers we listen to. This is true for all people and not just “Christians” because all people are religious by nature and everyone listens to their favorite preachers. Secular Humanism and Atheism are just as much religious by nature as Christianity. So what are many of the preachers of modern society preaching? For a long time the “dream” of many has been a pursuit of wealth and pleasure at any expense. The vision sown is that the ideal life is one with lots of money, possessions and unrestrained sexual exploits. This is a natural dream for those raised on the rock star, movie star and sports star culture.

Another common dream is the messianic dream of heaven on earth created by "tolerance." Such a dream is a complete disconnect from reality that self-righteously devalues all other religions by assuming truth is relative and that there is no ultimate right and wrong except for the values of the tolerationists. Ironically and hypocritically, the priests of tolerationism are completely intolerant of the exclusive claims of religions such as Christianity’s exclusive claim that salvation and heaven can only be attained through faith in Jesus Christ. Tolerationism ultimately becomes an instrument of brutally enforced conformity to the will of the priests.

While there must be a separation of the institution of the Church and State, it is impossible for there to be a separation of religion and State. True biblical religion demands the separation of the institutions whereas other religions wed the institutions. Either way, it is a fact of nature that religion and the State cannot be separated, and the religion of a culture determines the freedom, justice and prosperity of the nation. False religion destroys lives and creates hell on earth. All other religions other than biblical religion will result in inhumane, tyrannical and oppressive culture. This is because the foundational religious issue is the determination of right and wrong, of good and evil. Because God created all things, His character and nature is stamped all over creation. Because nature declares biblical ethics, non-Christians can grasp God’s law which is written on their hearts. Unfortunately most people reject the clear testimony of nature and conscience. Sin blinds people to the self-evident truths revealed in nature. The point is that rejecting God’s character and nature which is the source of a true definition of good and evil, always leads to the dominance of evil in culture. This is what Isaiah was referring to when he wrote:

“And though the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your teachers will not be moved into a corner anymore, but your eyes shall see your teachers. Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” Whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left.” (Isaiah 30:20–21, NKJV)

The situation of pain and trouble the Israelites found themselves in was the result of earlier telling the prophets to not prophesy truly but to instead speak smooth words. People had itching ears and heaped up preachers who would pander to their flesh. The result was hell on earth. The turnaround for their culture took place once their teachers were given their proper place in culture once again. Then Isaiah describes the glorious social transformation that would take place once God’s word was given its rightful place in their lives and society.

The picture Isaiah painted accurately describes the days we are living in. People are listening to all kinds of false preachers who prophesy smooth things which pander to the carnal nature of people. As a result, everything is falling apart. The only way to restore true liberty, justice and prosperity to society is to return to biblical values. We once again need to embrace biblical ethics, because they are a manifestation of who God is. That is the ministry of God’s law. Such a ministry only restrains lawlessness and makes people realize that they need a savior from the sin in their hearts.

The Christian ministry of reconciliation includes the commission to bring all things back to divine order. That is what true love will always do. That is what Jesus made possible at the cross. Only the gospel has the power to make us truly loving and make us compatible for fellowship with God. The ministry of the institution of the church is to proclaim all of God’s word, and to follow the example of Jesus in all things. The fact that the ministry of the Law always paves the way for the gospel and it gives us divine wisdom to structure all things according to love in society is an important aspect of “our teachers no longer being moved into a corner.” Yet, all ministry, especially the law, prepares the way for people to receive Jesus the Messiah, the only savior from sin. It paves the way for New Covenant ministry where sin is no longer simply restrained, but it is destroyed. The glorious power of the gospel is that it has the power to transform us into the image of Christ. Jesus truly is more than a covering for our sin, He is our savior.